GM Files Patent For System That Estimates EV Consumption When Off Roading

GM has filed a patent for a system that will estimate the energy consumption of an electric vehicle operating in off-road conditions.

The new GM patent application has been assigned patent number US 11,752,884 B2 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and was published on September 12^th, 2023. The patent was originally filed on November 10^th, 2021, and lists several Israel-based engineers as the inventors, including Barak Hershkovitz, Ravid Erez, Ariel Telpaz, Nadav Baron, Shani Avnet, Yuval Gilboa, Oleg Karp, and Benjamin Perahya, as well as Michigan-based engineer Michael R. Colville.

The patent describes an operating system design for a vehicle powered by an all-electric drivetrain and equipped with a plurality of electrically powered accessories. The system controller incorporates a variety of information, including the subject vehicle and ambient conditions, as well as navigation information and the target off-road trail, to calculate the estimated energy consumption for the EV over the target off-road trail segment. The system also incorporates on-track monitoring and possible changes in trip conditions, such as connectivity, weather, and charging station availability.

Furthermore, the EV drivetrain and electrically powered accessories are controlled during operation of the vehicle on the off-road segment based on energy consumption predictions made by the system.

The system described in the GM patent is intended to minimize the likelihood of a low state-of-charge event in order to avoid stranding the vehicle (and its operator) on an off-road driving trail. The system will provide positive driver feedback if they are operating the vehicle in a efficient manner, as well as recommended actions to take to be more efficient, if necessary. The system will also notify the driver if it is risky to continue driving on the track outlined, and propose alternative routes, if needed.

This system has obvious applications for vehicles like the GMC Hummer EV, which currently does not offer it.

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